Tsongas Center's management company eyes Lowell Auditorium

LOWELL -- The company that has successfully managed the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell in recent years is closely eyeing the chance to manage another prominent facility in the city.

A top official at Global Spectrum has confirmed to The Sun that the firm is considering submitting a proposal to Lowell officials to manage Lowell Memorial Auditorium.

"I think we will take a serious look at it," said Frank Russo, Global's senior vice president for business development, in an Friday interview.

The opportunity to manage the auditorium has opened up because Mill City Management announced late last year that it would not seek a new contract after 17 years of successfully running the facility. Mill City Management's tenure officially ends June 30.

Early last week, the city officially put out a request for proposals seeking a new company to run the facility on East Merrimack Street on the city's behalf.

According to the RFP, the city is seeking to sign a five-year contract with the company it selects, and the contract would include a mutual option to extend the contract for up to three additional years. The contract would be expected to take effect July 1.

Sealed bids are due Jan. 24. The city anticipates announcing the selected proposal in mid-February.

Global, which manages more than 100 facilities worldwide, would only move forward with putting in a proposal to manage the auditorium if it receives permission to do so from UMass Lowell, Russo said.

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The company is seeking permission because it wants to make sure the university, its existing client, would not have any misgivings about Global managing a second facility in the city.

"We want to make sure it would not be anything conflicting and get their permission to make it complementary," Russo said.

Global would be excited about the prospect of managing the auditorium because of its storied history, including that of hosting Golden Gloves Boxing events, Russo said.

"We would view it as a very value-added opportunity for us in a market where we already have a major piece of business," Russo said.

UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan said Sunday he has no concerns with Global Spectrum seeking to manage the auditorium because it is a very different venue than the university-owned Tsongas Center.

The Tsongas Center often hosts concerts, while the auditorium trends toward more theater-style shows, Meehan said. The two also are different in size. For theater-style events, the auditorium can seat just under 3,000 people, while the Tsongas Center is a 7,800-seat arena.

"We would have to have a conversation, but I don't see any reason why they could not run both venues very well," Meehan said of Global.

The chancellor credits Global with helping the Tsongas Center attract events that have drawn sold-out crowds. Since UMass Lowell took over the Tsongas Center and brought on Global Spectrum, the venue has been ranked as one of the top facilities in the world for venues with a capacity between 5,001 and 10,000 by Venues Today magazine.

The next step for Global in its decision-making process about whether to submit a proposal will be to attend a pre-bid meeting Tuesday morning, Russo said.

Peter Lally, the auditorium's general manager, has previously said he intends to bid for the contract. Lally has said he has plans to help grow the auditorium by cultivating more relationships with promoters that book their acts for multiple nights, and working with the city to improve the building's interior infrastructure.

He did not respond to a request for comment.

Michael Vaughn, Lowell's chief procurement officer, said the city is hoping many entities submit proposals to run the auditorium. The bids received will not be opened publicly because an evaluation committee will have to review whether proposals meet the criteria set forth in the request for proposals. The suggested fee to operate the facility is only one part of the submission.

Whether a bidder includes in its proposal that it would need the city to continue to provide a subsidy for the firm to manage the auditorium is up to each bidder, Vaughn said.

In fiscal 2013, which began July 1, the city budgeted $320,000 to subsidize the operation of the auditorium.

Jim O'Donnell Jr., chairman of the auditorium's board of trustees, said he hopes the city receives proposals from companies that could carry on the success of the auditorium under Mill City Management.

"I'd be looking for a company with the expertise to do the job and one that has a feel for the community," O'Donnell said.

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